Ridiculously early 2019 NASCAR power rankings: Who's the '19 favorite?

Ridiculously early 2019 NASCAR power rankings: Who’s the favorite for next season?

HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 18: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, races Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

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HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 18: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, takes part in pre-race ceremonies for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

4. Martin Truex Jr.

Okay, so Truex won the championship in 2017, visited Victory Lane four times in 2018 and then came within a tad too little short-run speed of defending his title, and we’re putting him fourth in the power rankings? Well, yeah.

He’s absolutely going to be a favorite to make the NASCAR Playoffs. There’s very little chance that he won’t win any races, he’s arguably getting a small upgrade in equipment going from Furniture Row Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing, and his crew chief might be the best in the business. So this could definitely be a smidge low.

But that’s simply a testament to the other three drivers and teams we haven’t named yet, as well as the quality of the drivers we ranked just below Truex. It’s going to probably be even more of a battle in 2019, and there will be adjustments going to JGR. If this team ends up handling them in stride, we’ll apologize later.

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